Trending Science: NASA announces new mission to explore origins of the universe

On the same day officials announced the Opportunity rover mission came to an unceremonious end after losing contact with it, NASA was giddy with excitement at the news that it had approved a mission tasked with solving some of the universe’s greatest scientific mysteries.

“I’m really excited about this new mission” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a press release by the American space agency. “Not only does it expand the United States’ powerful fleet of space-based missions dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of the universe it is a critical part of a balanced science program that includes missions of various sizes.”

Valuable data in the quest to understand the cosmos

Expected to launch in 2023, the 2-year Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission will cost about EUR 220 million. The orbiting observatory’s assignment is to understand how the universe evolved in the first place and how common the building blocks of life are across our galaxy.

“This amazing mission will be a treasure trove of unique data for astronomers,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “It will deliver an unprecedented galactic map containing ‘fingerprints’ from the first moments in the universe’s history. And we’ll have new clues to one of the greatest mysteries in science: What made the universe expand so quickly less than a nanosecond after the big bang?”

SPHEREx will use near-infrared and optical light – wavelengths of light invisible to the human eye – to survey the sky every 6 months and gather data from more than 100 million stars in our Milky Way and 300 million galaxies. These are galaxies in our cosmic neighbourhood, but also others so distant that it’s taken 10 billion years for their light to travel through the universe.

While scanning the Milky Way, SPHEREx will hunt for organic molecules and water in areas where stars are born, called stellar nurseries. These nurseries, and disks around stars that help create new planets, could contain the ingredients for life as we know it.

Creating an unprecedented view of the universe around us

SPHEREx will generate a map of the entire sky using 96 different colour bands. This map will be a much more detailed colour resolution than all-sky maps to date. It will also help identify targets for other upcoming missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope and the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope.

Of the nine proposals for new projects, SPHEREx was chosen because it offered the best science potential and most feasible development plan. Though designed to last 2 years, the mission might be extended if successful.

“With this announcement we look forward to building SPHEREx” said James Bock the mission’s principal investigator from the California Institute of Technology in a news item posted on the top tech school’s website. “SPHEREx will explore the beginning of the universe the history of galaxy formation and the role of interstellar ices during the birth of new stars and planets while providing a unique all-sky data set for astronomy.”